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Alvin Diaz, New York’s Youngest Murderer, is 14

August 31, 2011

Alvin Diaz, a 14-year-old kid from the Bronx, just turned himself in for murder after fatally stabbing 18-year-old Dereck Cabejas in the chest on Saturday because of a water fight two days prior. Yes, a water fight. The two boys and Diaz’s brother’s playfighting on Thursday reportedly turned into real, serious fighting on Friday, when Cabejas slapped Diaz. Diaz returned on Saturday after midnight to Cabejas’ apartment building on Audubon Avenue and stabbed the boy. Cabejas was pronounced dead at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.

According to the Daily News, on his Facebook page Diaz asked his friends to come visit him in prison before turning himself in yesterday. Someone else responded to the post, “What you did was wrong, but you learn from it.” We couldn’t find Diaz’s Facebook profile — we’re guessing it’s been taken down.

No family attended Diaz’s arraignment last night, where he was ordered held without bail. Diaz has a juvenile arrest record already and a pending robbery case against him.

Diaz is officially the youngest murder suspect in New York. Younger even than the notorious Willie Bosket, whose murders as a 15-year-old in the ’70s prompted the passing of the “Willie Bosket law” which made it legal for children as young as 13 to be tried as adults in New York — a law coming into effect now, as Diaz will not be tried as a juvenile.